Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy for Food Safety Monitoring
Summary
Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) harnesses the enhancement of Raman scattering by molecules adsorbed on plasmonic nanostructured substrates, enabling the detection of trace-level contaminants in complex food matrices. Localised electromagnetic fields—so-called “hot spots”—formed on metallic nanostructures such as gold or silver amplify weak vibrational signals, in some cases down to single-molecule sensitivity. Advances in nanofabrication have yielded substrates with improved reproducibility, stability and portability. The integration of selective recognition elements, including aptamers, antibodies and molecularly imprinted polymers, alongside multivariate data analysis has further enhanced specificity and quantification. Applications span the rapid on-site monitoring of pesticide residues, mycotoxins, veterinary drugs, pathogens and adulterants. Coupling handheld Raman spectrometers with microfluidic sampling systems promises real-time screening and regulatory compliance testing. Remaining challenges include standardising substrate manufacturing, mitigating matrix interference and establishing validation protocols across diverse food products. Continued efforts in substrate design, chemometric processing and portable instrumentation are poised to bridge laboratory advances and field deployment, delivering global improvements in food safety assurance.
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Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy for Food Safety Monitoring publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in surface-enhanced raman spectroscopy for food safety monitoring across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS): A vibrational spectroscopic technique that uses plasmonic nanostructures to amplify Raman scattering signals and enable trace-level detection.
Hot spot: A nanometric region on a plasmonic substrate where the local electromagnetic field is intensely enhanced, boosting Raman signal intensity.
Substrate: A material—typically metallic nanostructures—used to generate plasmonic enhancement and facilitate adsorption of target molecules.
Aptamer: A short single-stranded nucleic acid selected to bind with high affinity and specificity to a target molecule for selective detection.
Multivariate analysis: Statistical and computational methods used to extract quantitative information from complex spectral data by considering multiple variables simultaneously.
References
- Advancing Mycotoxin Detection in Food and Feed: Novel Insights from Surface‐Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS). Advanced Materials (2024).
- Rapid and simultaneous determination of mixed pesticide residues in apple using SERS coupled with multivariate analysis. Food Chemistry X (2024).
- SERS-tag technology in food safety and detection: sensing from the “fingerprint” region to the “biological-silent” region. Journal of Future Foods (2024).
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